The new FIA WRC-car concept 2017

[dimviii]

[EstWRC]

doesnt look any different from the current car at his angle

[Mariusz]

That's the same car they've been testing with for ages, why should it look different?

What I meant was that the 2015 Yaris and the 2017 Polo look so similar in white and before I saw the front VW sign I was thinking that it was some Toyota testing.

[Jack4688`]

Ah I see what you mean, good point. That's exactly what they think they're eliminating with the rule changes but it's not working

[Lundefaret]

Oh wow what a total revolution it's like Group B re-imagined for the 21st century, praise the FIA and World Rally Commission for coming up with something so radical

This will truly change our sport, and bring in hordes of new fans from every country, gender, demographic and so on

I wonder how many man hours has been spent, how many people has been involved, how many meals have been had, how many air plane tickets and hotel rooms have been paid, how many meetings have been arranged to come up with that? Just wonder..

[Rally Power]

Again, really? How has it changed engine / exhaust wise? I'd be surprised if that wasn't just an aero package test, surely they haven't developed a new engine yet. Are the technical specifications and regulations for the engine even finalised?

No doubt they're already using the 36mm restrictor, which is the only engine change allowed by 2017 regs.

[Rally Power]

I wonder how many man hours has been spent, how many people has been involved, how many meals have been had, how many air plane tickets and hotel rooms have been paid, how many meetings have been arranged to come up with that? Just wonder..

Frankly even if we found the actual technical base inadequate, the proposed reg path is a clever one: they're just developing the existing technical concept in a budget friendly way. With the exception of the active central diff, the new regs will make the cars faster with superficial adjustments, avoiding major investments (like would be the case if hybrid systems were implement). WRC 1.6T is there since 2011, so the expected life of 9 years (till 2019) is a normal one, regarding WRC 2.0T (14 years), gr. A (10 years) and Gr.2/4 (10 years) as previous top WRC categories (Gr. B was the abnormal exception, during only 4 years). And this time it seems it was easy to reach a fast agreement between the FIA and the manufacturers (replacing WRC 2.0T took 2 and a half years!), so flight and hotel bills were probably low...

[Jack4688`]

...the proposed reg path is a clever one: they're just developing the existing technical concept in a budget friendly way...

That's true and it's been on the cards for quite a while. What they're doing wrong is, yet again, the promotional side of things. It's been billed as the best thing since Group B which, depending on opinion, could be true but it's not bonkers like they're making out. Being labelled as something it's not is what irks me.

If the press release said something like: "The new for 2017 regulations will be an evolution of the current rules that have been in place since 2011. Early in discussions with the manufacturers it was clear that controlling costs by remaining close to the current World Rally Car was important to them. The changes made for 2017 are as follows..." then there wouldn't be all this misplaced hype that will ultimately be a bit of an anti-climax. You can't argue that the new cars will have that little bit more impact, but we've been told they're going to look different, sound different, cook your dinner and give your wife a better orgasm than before.

They've ballsed up by over-hyping, though some blame lays with people inside WRC but not connected to the rule-making process - Malcolm Wilson and Markku Alen to name two.

[Hartusvuori]

I suppose we all have read the proposed reg changes and those who understand what it says, recognize the 2017 cars will be based on the 2011 foundation. Evolution, not revolution. Group B comparison was clear from the start when people realised the new cars can be somewhat bigger and more spectacular - even free - in shape. That "hype"' was equally created by the fans and the press, myself included. Now that we've seen the first glimpses of how it would be, many seem to have forget this indeed is evolution of the current spec, not all new. And get naturally dissappointed.

Funny though, people I know that have been to tests and commented the car, they all have said similar: "It indeed kind of reminds the Gr B". So, maybe what the most of us still miss, the actual feel of it, is actually quite something.

[Allyc85]

of course nobody is stupid enough to take what we are seeing with the Polo now, and think that's exactly what we will be getting in 2017. I expect the thing to slowly grow more spoilers/dive planes as time goes on.

I have to agree with what JML said back in Finland, the cars need flames, and loud bangs on the over run etc